MontCo to Receive State Grant Funding to Support Initiatives Aimed to Prevent Underage Drinking, Says Vereb
NORRISTOWN – Striving to make a positive impact on the health and well-being of Pennsylvania families and their communities across the state, Rep. Mike Vereb (R-Montgomery) today said that the Family Services and Norristown Area Communities That Care for Youth was awarded a $17,240.49 grant from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) to support initiatives that are aimed at preventing underage and dangerous alcohol use.
“I want to thank the Liquor Control Board for its continued support of alcohol education and safety, as well as Family Services for all its hard work during these troubled times providing necessary services to Montgomery County residents,” said Vereb.
The PLCB recently awarded more than $1 million through the 2012-13 Alcohol Education Grant Program.
“The PLCB understands the many issues communities face as a result of underage drinking and irresponsible consumption,” said PLCB Joseph E. Brion. “These grant awards allow us to make a positive impact on the health and well-being of Pennsylvania families and their communities.”
The PLCB grants help fund prevention programs focused on underage and college-age alcohol consumption and support related law-enforcement activities. Since 1999, the agency has awarded more than $8 million in competitive grants to hundreds of community groups.
Of the grants awarded:
• Twenty-nine will fund community law-enforcement efforts;
• Fifteen will be used to support social norms campaigns, such as making sure
teens know that most teens don’t drink and implementing environmental
management strategies such as increasing enforcement efforts and providing
training for law enforcement officers;
• Three will go to school districts to help fund AlcoholEDU, an online alcohol
assessment tool used to gather information on student behaviors while
educating them at the same time, along with the Safe Proms program and a
program to include alcohol education in different classroom settings; and
• Nineteen college and university grants will help schools develop strategies to
reduce underage and dangerous alcohol use including enforcement efforts;
social norms campaigns to change how students think about alcohol and binge
drinking; Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students which is a
program to help those students who drink heavily make less risky alcohol-use
decisions; and college alcohol risk assessments of the campus and surrounding
areas to identify alcohol-related issues.
To encourage an even greater level of participation, the PLCB will change to a two-year grant cycle in 2013 and increase the maximum grant award to $40,000.
“While drinking rates among our youth have gone down over the past decade according to national surveys, alcohol is still a significant public health issue and more work must be done,” said board member Robert Marcus. “We believe the increased financial award and the two-year grant period will allow participants the additional time and resources needed to make an even greater impact.”
Additional information will be released early next year when the 2013-14 grant application becomes available.
State Representative Mike Vereb
150th District, Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Lauren Whetzel
lwhetzel@pahousegop.com
717.260.6451